Minister provides extra funding to reach out to missing voters

The Public Service Minister Leighton Andrews has taken action to increase voter registration in Wales.

The Minister has previously expressed disappointment over the UK Government’s decision to rush into individual voter registration ahead of the Assembly election and supported the Electoral Commission’s view that it should be delayed.

The Minister has announced funding of £330,000 to local authorities to help increase the number of voters on the electoral role.  This will allow them to send a letter to every home in Wales to check whether electoral register information is correct, after the same activity provided good results last year.

Leighton Andrews said:

“I met with the Electoral Commission this week, and discussed ways to increase voter participation.

“This has been a time of pressure with the new system of Individual Electoral Registration and I know that Electoral Registration Officers are working hard to produce accurate registers. This funding will help them do that.

“Students are under represented in registering and voting, which is why I have also agreed to fund the National Union of Students (Wales) to develop a web-based tool to provide information on registering to vote and locating your polling station. I have urged registration officers to assist with this.”